Memorial held for murdered Jill Meagher in her native Drogheda

A memorial was held Friday in the town where Jill Meagher, the Irish woman who was murdered in Melbourne last weekend, grew up.

Locals in Drogheda, County Louth, came together in their thousands to share recollections and memories of the 29-year-old.

Students and teacher gathered at the high school (St Oliver's Community College) that Meagher attended to pay their respects.

Julie Cullen, a teacher at the school, went to college with Meagher at University College Dublin and spoke movingly of her friend.

"We got on like a house on fire. I don't think I would have made it through UCD without Jill because she was such a great support to me and such a great friend. We were the best of friends there,” she said, according to the Irish Independent.

"I don't think women all over the world will ever feel fully safe again. It is something we have all done, we have all gone out alone and walked somewhere we probably shouldn't have and we will think twice about it now."

Michael McKeon, an uncle of the slain woman, urged the public to exercise care with their reaction to the tragedy.

"We would ask people to be restrained (on social media) because there is a court case in relation to this. It's a time you don't expect to experience. We are finding it difficult to cope with. We are finding it difficult to understand how a parent could lose their child. You don't expect to bury a child . . . you just don't expect to do that."